Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Blair (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Blair. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Blair is located in Livingston County.
To see how the shape of Illinois' counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Livingston County: Ford, Grundy, Kankakee, La Salle, McLean & Woodford.
Below are the counties that are near Blair. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Blair:
- Livingston County (The home county of Blair)
- The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Cardiff
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
- Cardiff is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cardiff
- Campus
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Dwight
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Emington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Sunbury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sunbury is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
- Griswold
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
- Griswold is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Griswold
- Odell
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
- Adams ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)
- Adams is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams
- Cullom
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Saunemin
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
- Eylar
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
- Eylar is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eylar
- Budd
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Budd is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Budd
- Swygert
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
- Swygert is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swygert
- Ford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Cabery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Kempton
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
- Piper City
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Grundy County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Gardner
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- South Wilmington
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- South Wilmington is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 637 people
- Clarke City
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Clarke City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clarke City
- East Brooklyn
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- East Brooklyn is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Brooklyn
- Population from the 2020 Census: 104 people
- Braceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Central City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Central City is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Centerville is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Highland Town ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Highland Town is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highland Town
- Mazon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Coal City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Verona
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
- Carbon Hill
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Carbon Hill is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carbon Hill
- Population from the 2020 Census: 334 people
- Diamond
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Iroquois County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Chebanse
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
- Clifton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
- Ashkum
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
- Danforth
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast)
- La Hogue
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- La Hogue is located in Iroquois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Hogue
- L'Erable
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
- L'Erable is located in Iroquois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for L'Erable
- Gilman
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
- Ridgeville is located in Iroquois County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeville
- Kankakee County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Reddick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Buckingham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Union Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Essex
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Herscher
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Bonfield
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Goodrich
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
- Goodrich is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodrich
- Irwin
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the east)
- Irwin is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irwin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 71 people
- Limestone
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)
- Limestone is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Limestone
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,498 people
- Otto
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
- Otto is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
- Bourbonnais
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Kankakee
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sammons Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the east)
- Sammons Point is located in Kankakee County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sammons Point
- Population from the 2020 Census: 237 people
- Sammons Point has also been known as:
- Sammons Point village
- Kendall County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Lisbon
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Lisbon is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lisbon
- Population from the 2020 Census: 310 people
- Plattville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Plattville is located in Kendall County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plattville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 257 people
- La Salle County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Ransom
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Seneca
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- Seneca is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seneca
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,217 people
- Seneca has also been known as:
- Crotty
- Seneca village
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seneca <1>
- Marseilles
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Kernan
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
- Kernan is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kernan
- Stavanger
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the northwest)
- Stavanger is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stavanger
- Streator
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
- Grand Ridge
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
- Kangley
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Kangley is located in La Salle County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kangley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- McLean County
- Weston
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
- Weston is located in McLean County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Weston
- Will County
- The following are listed by their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Godley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
- Godley is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Godley
- Population from the 2020 Census: 771 people
- Braidwood
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
- Custer Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
- Custer Park is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Custer Park
- Lakewood Shores
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Lakewood Shores is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakewood Shores
- Wilmington
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
- Wilmington is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wilmington
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,597 people
- Blodgett
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Blodgett is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blodgett
- Symerton
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
- Symerton is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Symerton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Elwood
(23 miles [37 km] to the northeast)
- Wilton Center
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
- Wallingford
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
- Wallingford is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallingford
- Manhattan
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rockdale
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
- Rockdale is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,884 people
- Preston Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
- Preston Heights is located in Will County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Preston Heights
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Blair, see our County-by-County Page for Blair.
Cemeteries Near Blair ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Blair.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Blair - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Blair covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Round Grove Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the south)
- Grand Prairie Lutheran Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Sacred Heart Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Goodfarm Cemetery
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
- Smith Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Dwight Old Town Cemetery
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- McDowell Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Broughton Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
- St. Joseph Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Coleman Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coleman Cemetery
- To give a relative sense of its location, the Coleman Cemetery is located outside and to the south of Union Hill.
- South Essex Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Essex Twp. Cemetery
- The South Essex Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Essex Cemetery
- Essex Twp. Cemetery
- Foote Cemetery
- South Essex Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #1964373 <2>
- Continue List (214 more) ...
- North Essex Twp. Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Essex Twp. Cemetery
- The North Essex Twp. Cemetery has also been known as:
- Essex Cemetery
- Essex Twp. Cemetery
- North Essex Cemetery
- Jump to Find-A-Grave: FG ID #107202 <2>
- Wheeler Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
- Braceville - Gardner Cemetery
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
While we didn't find Blair in the Atlas, the following 1895 communities would have been found near the current location of Blair.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Blair, with the one closest to Blair listed first.
- Reddick
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- Campus
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Gardner
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Dwight
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
- Buckingham
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Mazonia
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
- Mazonia is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mazonia
- Union Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Essex
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Braceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
- Emington
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Cabery
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Centerville ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Centerville is located in Grundy County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Herscher
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Mazon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
- Sunbury
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Sunbury is located in Livingston County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunbury
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Blair. See our List of 1890's Communities around Blair.
Newspapers Published in Blair ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 169 newspapers that have been published in the area around Blair.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Blair, there are papers which were published within 27 miles [43.5 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Blair.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first turn to the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Blair:
- Websites specific to Illinois
- Pages specific to Livingston County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Ford County
- Grundy County
- Iroquois County
- Kankakee County
- Kendall County
- La Salle County
- McLean County
- Will County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Illinois
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Blair, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Blair) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |